Slow and steady growth is the name of the game for skin-care brand Dr. Idriss Skincare, which was founded by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shereene Idriss in 2022. Dr. Idriss has 2.3 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.
Dermatologist-backed beauty brands have gained prominence in recent years due to a shift in consumer demand for clinically efficacious brands that offer spa-level results at home.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in the chatter [of brand launches] and lose sight of the forest through the trees, but we’re very focused on our DTC [channels] and our exclusive retail partner in North America, which is Sephora,” Ariel Gold, president of Dr. Idriss Skincare, told Glossy. Dr. Idriss launched on Sephora’s U.S. e-commerce site and half of its physical doors in March 2024 before expanding into all doors in the U.S. in September. Gold shared that, in March, Dr. Idriss Skincare beat Sephora’s sales forecasts for the brand by 130%, and it sold out online on the first day of Sephora’s April Beauty Insider Sale.
Now, Dr. Idriss Skincare is expanding to Sephora Canada. The brand launched on Sephora Canada’s website on January 3 and will be present in the retailer’s roughly 150 Canadian stores within the coming weeks.
“It is about maintaining the momentum, but at the same time making sure that we’re set up for success for that kind of expansion, from a marketing, capital and manpower perspective,” Gold said. Before the Sephora Canada launch, the brand established a presence in the region by expanding its DTC e-commerce sales to Canada in April 2024.
To market the Canadian launch, the brand plans to build awareness via social media and invest in in-person initiatives, including growing its field team.
Additionally, the brand will host in-person meet-and-greets and educational events with founder Dr. Shereene Idriss for its forthcoming product launches in the year’s first quarter. “We’ve had multiple personal appearances by [Dr. Idriss] in U.S. stores that have far exceeded our sales targets. We’re planning on replicating that in Canada,” said Gold.
Community building online and in person has contributed to the brand’s growth, she said. In November 2024, six months after launching into Sephora in-store and online, Dr. Idriss Skincare announced a partnership with AI skin analysis device company EveLab Insight to build upon its strategy of meeting consumers where they are. The two brands developed a customized device, which consumers can access in-store at Sephora U.S. locations, that provides skin-care consultations and customized product recommendations based on skin concerns.
“We did our first event without [Dr. Idriss herself] focused on this device in New York City, and we exceeded our sales target by over 50%, validating that we don’t need our founder to be present for these kinds of events. The device really does work in terms of driving traffic and driving conversion,” Gold told Glossy.
As the brand grows, Gold said maintaining its profitability through low-cost, high-reach marketing, methodically building out its e-commerce and Sephora commerce teams, and releasing innovative product launches will be top of mind.
“We’re very fortunate that the business has been profitable and cashflow positive for quite some time,” she said.
In 2024, British skin-care brand Elemis, TikTok favorite Kulfi, hair-care brand Vegamour, personal care brand Touchland and sunscreen brand Ultra Violette expanded into Sephora Canada.
According to Statista, the Canadian beauty and personal care market is expected to generate at least $9 billion in sales in 2025, and Sephora Canada is leading the charge. Statista’s market data revealed the retailer was the top online beauty store in Canada in 2022, generating approximately $403 million in e-commerce net sales in the region.
“Beauty in Canada is growing very quickly, from both a revenue and a units perspective. And within beauty, skin care, in particular, is really dynamic there,” Cara Kamenev, president of menopause care brand Stripes, told Glossy in an August 2024 interview. “There may be a misrepresentation that [the market] is not as innovation-driven, but it actually is. The consumer really does have a thirst and hunger for the best in innovation.”
